Paddy Kavanagh, the guide and leader was in the village today with a couple from Rome. I asked the lady how she had come in contact with Paddy and she told me that she found him in The Lonely Planet. Is that another name for Athlone?.

Another couple from Wisconsin were on a castle trip seemingly as they had come from Westport and were going to visit Clonmacnois, Birr Castle and then go on to Kilkenny. I thought that they might have come over with Rip Dwanny’s group to Castledaly Manor but they said not. They told me that Rip had a fine hotel and restaurant in their home town. They preferred the freedom of doing their own look about than organised bus tours.

Heard that a number of cars and trailers were parked at the bridge from Michael Doherty, so I went up to have a look. There were six pike anglers that had come over from the Merseyside with three cars and their own fishing boats and engines on trailers.

Phil Lewis caught two pike of 11 lbs and 8 lbs fishing with drifted herring from an anchored boat.

Sean Ness from Widle ? had a pike weighing 16 lbs using herring while fishing from an anchored boat at 25 feet depth of water.

All three fish were caught on the Shannon and returned alive.

The river gauge today was 3.37 metres and most of the flood has gone off the Callows.

Had a phone call from the cousin Frances in Manchester today telling us that she is in good form. She was with our other cousins John Francis and Inge and there is a chance that John Francis and his son Aidan will be over around Saint Patrick’s Day.